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Volumn XXIII, Number 2
I A
L
E
D
I T
I O
N
January 13, 1993
“The Eyes and Ears of the Community”
- - -
-
BACKGROUND OF "KEEP LIVING THE DREAM’
i its
bïî
l "JF i »
“ ...I must confess that
I am not afraid of
the word ‘tension., I
have earnestly
opposed violent
tension, but there is
a type o f construc
tive, nonviolent
tension which is
necessary for
growth. ”
* V s
'À
».
Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Keep Living The D ream ” be
gan in 1980 with all-day program
m ing on community radio station
KBOO (90.7 F.M), focusing on the
life and dream s o f Dr. M artin Luther
K ing Jr. This was prior to the 1986
establishm ent o f a national holiday i n
honor of Dr. King, and was intended
as an educational event as well as a
celebration of Dr. K ing’s life. The
program m ing provided an opportu
nity for students and community mem
bers to participate in significant cul
tural enrichm ent activity
From 1980 to 1984, “Keep Liv
ing The D ream ” was a radio program
produced by several KBOO volunteer
program m ers, coordinated by Ken
Beny. T heK B O O program m m gcon-
tinues, as each year on the third M on
day in January, KBOO pre-empts its
regular daily program m ing to allow
perform ing arts groups and others to
reflect on Dr. K ing’s life and mes
sage.
In 1985, in order to reach a
broader audience, “Keep Living The
D ream ” expanded beyond the KBOO
studios to W hitaker Middle School.
This allowed for a larger live audi
M
ence and provided an opportunity for
greater community participation in the
program. In addition, "Keep Living The
Dream” was simulcasted live on KBOO-
FM and Paragon Cable Television chan
nels 30 and 38 After four years, “Keep
Living The D ream ” outgrew the techni
cal facilities and audience capacity of
W hitaker M iddle School.
In 1989, "Keep Living The Dream”
was moved to the Jefferson High School
Performing Arts Center, where the pro
gram is recognized as being the largest
m artin Luther K ing tribute in the State
of Oregon. The program has continued
to be based at Jefferson and to be broad
cast on KBOO and Paragon Cable Tele-
vision.
W orld Arts Foundation
World Arts Foundation, Inc. was
established in 1978 to promote and
preserve African Am erican contribu
tion to American Culture. It was incor
porated and received non-profit, tax-
exempt status in 1983. The W orld Arts
Foundation works to establish links
between African A merican artists and
the wider arts community, to support
African A m erican artists and to pro
duce program m ing showcasing local
a r t in
and national artist. In addition to the
“Keep Living The D ream ” project,
World Arts Foundation has:
* Established the Y oungsong
Stagehand and Gospel Choir to intro
duce young people and new audi
ences to instrumental and choral music
of such great artists as M ahalia Jack-
son, Duke Ellington, Dr. Chester
Dorsey and Count Basie. Participants
are given instruction in gospel, jazz
and music theory.
* Produced two historical televi
sion documentaries, including”— An
Oral History' on the Life and W ork of
Dr. M artin Luther King, Jr.”
* Produced a series of after-school
theater workshops for the Portland
Public Schools.
* Hosted the reception for the
Sm ithsonian Traveling Exhibition
“Portraits in Black” at the Interstate
Firehouse Theater, draw ing hundreds
of people who otherwise m ight not
have seen the exhibition.
* Established a visual arts com
mittee of local African Am erican and
ethnic minority artists, for the pur
pose of networking and creating a
directory of artists.
h e R
n N ovem ber 2,1983 a bill from Congress creating a new na
il; tional holiday was signed into law by then, President Ronald
riet Tubman, and W .E.B. DuBois and Carter G. W oodson had known, that the
struggle is for control o f the mind as well as of the body. An in our double-barreled
battle our truest unity and greatest strength is our fight against a common foe -
racism, and not in all using the same tactics or advocating the same philosophy.
K ing’s continuing lesson for me and his lasting legacy to our struggle today
should be a determination never to be deterred by the proclamations from those who
1 Reagan. This new national holiday established January 15
' as a legal public commemoration of the birth of Dr. Marlin
Luther King, Jr. Beginning in 1986, this day is officially
celebrated on the third Monday of each January.
Now, over seventeen years later, it is my pleasure and honor to be able to offer
these w ords in this space, in recognition ot the struggle, sacrifice and successes
that Dr. King symbolizes in the quest of America to make the promise and hope
o f freedom a reality for all citizens o f this great country.
In his life and in his death, Dr. King reminded us courageously, eloquently
and heroically that an unfortunate reality of both our national past and our global
present is that the jo y s and benefits of personal Irccdom and civil entitlem ent arc
still not possessed by all colors, classes and nationalities in equal measure. Martin
Luther King becam e a’symbol and a leader in the modern day struggle to defeat
bigotry, discrim ination, oppression and racism wherever it was lound in this
oppose what w e so rightfully seek.
K ing’s continuing inspiration to me and I hope to all the youth o f today, is to
never let those who oppose and resist the progress o f right and the growth of racial
justice, define cither our personal goals or our collective objectives.
I, you, wc can and will achieve all that wc conceive if wc keep a clear and un
flinching picture before us. Wc must seek w hat is justly and rightfully due in this
generation from society as a consequence the great wrongs and injustices perpe
trated in earlier generations upon a helpless underclass, but wc must also under
stand the requirem ents and demands upon each of us as individuals with free will
and personal responsibility for success or failure in this present generation.
In addition to what is legitimately owed to us, wc also each and every one of
us, owe ourselves something as well. In earlier generations, African-Americans and
others had to struggle daily and very personally with the difficulties, inconven
iences, injustices and often outright horrors o f a society committed to the privileges
o f one race and class, and the suppression o f all others. Thanks to champions like
the man we honor today, Marlin Luther King, African-Americans in this country
now enjoy rights and opportunities that even the most optimistic of our predeces
sors would find hard to conceive. This transformation was not accidental nor coin
cidental. It was created by King and many, many others just as brave, just as willing,
but now unknown and unnamed. Fortunes, careers, not infrequently even lives were
the price o f those victories. Wc now ow e it to those known and unknown
benefactors to succeed with or without the help o f others or the arrival of those
O
country or around the world.
In that struggle his primary legacy to us was the gentle weapon of love and
the stainless sword of non-violence. These were the ideals and principles that
guided his struggle against injustice. Through him we learned that the human
spirit is greater than physical violence. We learned that hope and courage arc
more powerful than fear. He preached and he practiced the profound bclicl that
race docs not have to divide those of good faith and high intentions. He knew and
he helped us all to believe that love can and will prevail over hate.
But as I take this moment to reflect more deeply, more com pletely on what
he stood for and what he accom plished, other things also became clear that still
have profound meaning in the circum stances and situations we now struggle
through without his physical and spiritual presence to aid our quest.
He understood that those who have sought to oppress right and dethrone
justice do not rely on any one single weapon to impose subjugation, but instead
have brought to bare a veritable arsenal o f weapons an strategies to accomplish
those ends.
The assault has targeted both the body and the mind, ranging from the
fabrication of negative racial and cultural stereotypes (which continue to dom i
nate public media and com m unication) to the physical terrors of old style southern
justice, lynch law and night-riding, which has not yet com pletely disappeared
from our streets or countrysides even these many years alter King s great
crusades.
Martin Luther King understood that the only logical way to respond to such
a perverse and diverse attack on human rights and aspirations, was to be resource
ful and multidimensional in our own turn; to be strong; to be smart; and most of
all to be com forted in the righteousness ol the task ahead. King knew, as wc now
must also know, that repression must never be accepted without resistance. That
w hile all have a contribution to make, it is not necessary nor desirable for every
one to fight the same battle or use the same weapons in their opposition. It is the
unity o f opposition that matters and not an artificial uniformity of strategy or
approach that must materialize.
M artin Luther King knew; just as Frederick Douglass had known; just as Har
reparations rightly due.
Excuses, however justified, arc a poor replacement for high self-expectations.
However imperfect our present circumstances may be, they hold far more possibili
ties than any ever before for African-Americans willing to world hard to succeed.
Wc cannot afford to squat behind complaints and accusations, regardless ol
how valid they might still be - or wc will pay a terrible social and economic cost.
That cost is the threat o f becoming obsolete. That cost is becoming inconsequen
tial and being left out o f the future world. Wc must choose success instead. Let
success, in education, in business, in politics and ih spiritual lullillm cnt, be our big
gest and best testimonial to the life and sacrifice of Martin Luther King and all those
who struggled before him to create these opportunities wc enjoy.
Let that success in their names be our gifts o f honor to ourselves and to the
country. The country that has always needed us, to fight in its wars, to raise itscrops,
to rear its children - needs us now as well. O ur shared racial past has given a par
ticular segment of society an “ inherited” and “ unfair" headstart over other popu
lation segments. The historic unfairness of the headstart creates social tensions and
conflicts that prevent the country collectively from utilizing the lull potential ol its
human resources, skills and talents for growth and progress. It is thus hampered and
handicapped in competition with other countries more able to locus efficiently the
full power and talent o f their national resources on economic or other problems. II
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this country slips behind wc slip behind, too.
It is in all our interests to forge a future in which the dream o f King “ ...that
my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged
by the color o f their skin but by the content of their character...” includes a reality
that not only their character but their skills and talents as well will be recognized
and utilized for the common good.
In the last major sermon that King delivered only days before his assassina
tion, he spoke of how he wanted to be remembered should it pass that he not be
able like Moses to enter the Promised Land with his people. He said; “ I do n ’t want
a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver my eulogy, tell them not to talk
too long...I’d like somebody to mention that day, Marlin Luther King, Jr., tried to
give his life serving others. I’d like for somebody to say that day that M artin Lu
ther King, Jr. tried to love som ebody...”
Let us use his memory and the lasting eloquence of his lifelong struggle for
justice and love to ignite our own fire and passion in pursuit of those goals. L et
us use his vision of peace and non-violence to rcdcdicatc ourselves and this
country to make the ideals o f our founding renewed and newly true - -One nation
under God with liberty and justice for All.
Quotes
“ In his own life’s example, he symbolized what was right about Am erica,
what was noblest and best, what human beings have loved unconditionally. He
was in constant pursuit of truth, and when he discovered it, he em braced it...
(W ords of Corclta Scott King, widow of Martin Luther King at the W hite
House ceremonies making his birthday a national holiday, November 2, 1983.)
“ ...I’d like for somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther, Jr. tried to
give his life serving others. I’d like for somebody to say that day that M artin L u
ther King, Jr. tried to love somebody...I want you to say that I tried to love and
serve hum anity.” (From K ing’s “ Drum Major sermon describing how he
wished to be remembered, - given 2 months before his assassination in 1968)
“ I have a Dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true
meaning of its creed: “ We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are
created equal.” (From K ing’s “ I Have a Dream speech” , W ashington, D.C.
Lincoln Monument 1963.)
“ Negroes of the United States, following the people o f India, have dem on
strated that non-violence is not sterile passivity, but a powerful moral force which
makes for social transform ation.” (From King’s acceptance speech o f the Nobel
Peace Prize, 1964.)
“ He taught us that only peaceful means can bring about peaceful ends, that
our goal was tocrcatc the love community. America is a more dem ocratic nation,
a more just nation, a more peaceful nation because M arlin Luther King, Jr.
became her preeminent non-violent commander. (W ords o f C orctta Scott King,
widow of Marlin Luther King, Jr. at the W hile House cerem onies making his
birthday a national holiday, November 2, 1983.)